The Shinaides Affair
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to Operation:Cirrus. It's been two months ever since the events of the close-to-tragic "Operation: Cirrus" and nothing seems to have changed in Kodama Town. Yet, Subaru gets an invitation to the presentation of a new scientific invention which seems to be something which can potentially change the world. Yet someone will try to steal it and he must prevent that.
1. Chapter 1: An unexpected invitation

**The Shinaides Affair**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Chapter 1: An unexpected invitation**

17:45 PM (Japan Time), Friday February the 3rd, 2206…

"… Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Tremble, world! I'm back!"

"Yeah, yeah. How scary, really."

"You wouldn't scare an elephant, even."

"Like Kizamaro said: you do not impress us!"

"Ox is stronger than ya!"

"Now, now."

"Let them be, Gino – kun. You know how this ends up like, anyway, don't you?"

"Buro~! When did ya…?"

"A few hours ago~!"

"Probabilities of mayhem occurring clock at 88%..."

"Trouble, trouble."

"Mwah, hah, hah! Subari~! You've been playing 'round while I was napping?"

"No."

Hoshikawa Subaru (aged 13) directed a skeptical glare at his Wizard War Rock and he formed a broad grin: Subaru sported a middle school uniform and seemed to be slightly over a meter and sixty tall by now in height yet his main facial features hadn't changed much.

"Heh, heh, heh. That means "yeah"! Say it, glass-jerk!"

"Huh? What did you call me? I am Saishouin Kizamaro and you know it!"

Saishouin Kizamaro kept on being the short-heighted guy of the 1 – A class yet his hairstyle and typical glasses hadn't changed: he now looked at War Rock with an offended look.

"Probabilities of a fight erupting clock at 94%..."

"Shaddup, walking P – something!"

"Pedia!"

Pedia, Kizamaro's Wizard, had been muttering aloud when War Rock snapped at him and he looked annoyed.

"Hmpf! A barbarian is, after all, a barbarian."

"That's Moon Disaster's little cousin for ya!"

"Wha~t? YOU say that I have SOMETHING to do with THAT BARBARIAN named MOON DISASTER? Shirogane Luna won't let this barbarian meddle with her pride!"

Shirogane Luna had been acting the unimpressed when War Rock taunted her and her temper began to climb up.

"'Cause "Luna" is "Moon" ya know…" He laughed.

"I knew it."

"What did you know, Mode? Confess!"

"Come on! I just meant that I knew this would end up badly."

Mode rolled his eyes and sighed when Luna looked at her like she was the culprit for the whole mess.

"That doesn't change that Ox can bust 200 Viruses alone!"

"Are ya sure ya don't mean that ya ate 200 pounds of meat while I was napping, Fatman?"

"Ushijima Gonta, you moron!"

Ushijima Gonta seemed to have lost some weight (surprisingly enough) recently: he was now protesting.

"No! I had him eat 200 pounds of vegetables! We don't need a useless Fatman around here who actually goes and copies the homework from Tsukasa – kun when he's on the clinic doing his daily rehabilitation exercises!" Luna brusquely signaled him with her right hand's middle finger.

"Uo~h! It won't happen again, _iinchou_! I promise!" He pleaded.

"Buro~! Ya always get into a mess!"

Ox folded his arms and didn't seem to like how Gonta was always getting into trouble with Luna.

"Now, now, could we try to avoid a fight?"

"Says Gino Il Napolitano~!"

"Kiboyama Gino, War Rock!"

Kiboyama Gino had slightly messy brown hair and bluish eyes: he appealed as being a few centimeters shorter in height compared to Subaru.

"Come on, War Rock! Let's have the afternoon in peace."

"Says Tsukasi~!"

"Futaba Tsukasa! And you know it! Jeez!"

Futaba Tsukasa kept on having his usual hairstyle and he carried two crutches to assist him while walking: he got a twitch over the right eye when War Rock taunted him.

"Mwah, hah, hah! Now I'm gonna slice and dice 300 Viruses! Take that, Ox, ya slow-witted bull wannabe~!"

"Buro~! Not so fast! I'll beat ya to that!"

"Bring it on, twerp!"

"Buro~! Bring it on, twit!"

"As expected." Everyone (save Rock and Ox) muttered.

18:03 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I am the ghost of the ladies' restroom…"

"Who the heck?"

"Pororon?"

"Not another goddamn blackout!"

"Someone get the lights!"

"I am a - GHOST!"

"No ghosts and no silly tricks! Harp!"

"Pororon! Roger! Shockwave!"

"Whack!"

"Ah! The light's back!"

"Who's that? Hey! Isn't this the replacement reception clerk?"

"Crap!"

"So! You're the new saboteur!"

Hibiki Misora, Harp and Urakata Mamorou had cornered a man on his mid 20s with blonde hair and some unshaved beard wearing night vision goggles in the corridor space directly in front of Misora's own room: the three of them looked annoyed and the man gasped.

"N-no! I'm just…!"

"25000?"

"25000… What?"

"Did the old man offer you that much money?"

"Huh? Yikes!"

"Where did you find that, Suzuka and Ice?"

"Behind the flower pot in the reception…"

Suzuka and Ice stepped into the picture: she was showing everyone an attaché case colored silver which was practically empty save for a check with the number "25,000" written into it.

"Hand that thing over."

Mamorou picked the night vision goggles and examined them only to discover something.

"Huh? What the…! This bloody thing has a micro-camera built into it as well! Conclusion? _Paparazzi_! Kick the hell outta this pervert! SECURITY~!"

"No _paparazzi_ allowed! Go home!"

"Go home!"

"Let go of me, you!"

Two security guards followed by the security Wizard drove the man out while Mamorou sighed.

"Let's send this to the Satella Police and see if they can pick any fingerprints outta the guy. And it wasn't the record label from the last time but one of those idiotic magazines. Man. They must've wanted to blackmail you, even." He cursed.

"Let them try! I'm a member of the Satella Police's "Raid Troop" after all so they're gonna regret it dearly! My word!" Misora folded her arms and looked indifferent.

"Well said. Let's get back to work. No saboteurs are gonna interfere with us!" Mamorou rallied.

"Roger!"

Misora returned inside of the room and sat down to check on what looked like a song's lyrics' draft given the erasure marks on it and the fact that it was being written in pencil.

"It's been two months ever since we botched the "Operation: Cirrus" staged by that foreign nation… Hyde and his punk have been pretty quiet: I thought they'd dare to show their hide often."

"Pororon! We should be glad, though! That punk is enough to give ya the creeps given how he killed 26 foreigners by Alphabetic order!" Harp muttered with a hint of fear.

"Of course! And those foreigners turned out to be spies for hire required for the main part of the operation but which were then assassinated to ensure that they couldn't leak anything to another employer. What creeps, really! And to think the punk can't be even 16… Either Hyde turned the jerk into that or that Denpa Body did." Misora recalled.

She sat down on the chair and began to tap the lower edge of the desk with the pencil as if she was thinking of something.

"Hmmm… Maybe I can make it be center around the "snow" theme and it'd fit. Let's try to make it good-sounding. And if I'm stuck I can always go talk with Subaru – kun. He gives me ideas."

"Pororon! Got a crush?" Harp teased.

"Huh? Me? A crush? No, no! We're just friends!" She gasped.

"Then, that of Queen Tia – sensei is also…?" Harp asked.

"Eh… No, no. Queen Tia – sensei is… different." She trailed off.

"Huh? I didn't really catch the meaning."

"D-don't worry! No big deal, really…!"

"If you say so… But I can't shake off the impression that there's more to it, really…" Harp muttered.

"Sorry, but I'd rather forget about the topic altogether. Queen Tia –sensei might be somewhat… commanding… from time to time and she may believe she can impose her will over others…" Misora nervously told Harp while seemingly trying to tone it down.

"Pororon! I guess I'd better to give up. See ya!"

Harp warped out of the room and Misora sighed in relief.

_Really… Queen Tia – sensei IS a scary person…_

18:33 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Going to buy some more vile candies of fats and calories to laugh at me again? Akatsuki."

"Crap. Acid! You said this route was empty!"

"You're becoming predictable, Shidou."

"Jeez."

"So?"

"Sheesh! Stop stalking me and don't come closer to Misora out or in of briefings, Queen Tia!"

Akatsuki Shidou had been seemingly about to sneak out of the WAXA building when Queen Tia showed up behind him while looking dull and skeptical: Akatsuki scolded Acid but he didn't seem to mind the fact to begin with.

"That I can tolerate, yet…"

"I'm not trying to laugh at your face! Come on! It's been about what, one a half year, since the Meteor G thing! And the only thing you've done is behave as an icy person around here! Sure, you've helped Dr. Yoiri and such but you seem to have fun making me look like a food maniac!"

"Hmpf."

"A~h! I can't take it anymore~! Someone bring a hammer and shatter this ice mask once and for all!" He exclaimed out of obvious exasperation by clutching his head.

"Hmpf."

Queen Tia turned tail and walked away while Akatsuki sighed in relief and hurried outside of the building.

"Why doesn't she keep care of Jack? He's got a cold, after all! Go broom the yard and leave me alone!"

Akatsuki cursed under his breath yet Acid remained quiet…

18:20 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Mail… Let's check it out."

"Yo!"

"Yikes!"

CRASH!

"Grah… Rock! I didn't like that one!"

"Mwah, hah, hah."

Subaru had been working on the homework when his Hunter – VG beeped: he'd been about to reach out for it when War Rock suddenly materialized right in front of his noses: he lost balance and crashed into the ground along with the chair: he had to rub his back and groaned as he managed to stand up.

"Grah! Go scatter dust in the river!"

"What's with the face? Ya got a mail from the punk?"

"Wrong! I got an invitation!"

"Oho! Misora is gonna invite you to a date, then? Man! This is your chance!" War – Rock made a smirk.

"Wrong! Misora – chan isn't! It's from the Shinaides Research Lab!"

"Shina - what's – his - name?" War – Rock laughed.

"Sheesh! Shinaides Research Lab! It's one of the most prestigious labs in Japan! They're in Kyoto! I've always wanted to visit it! Dad is friends with the head of it, Professor Shinaides Amedan!" Subaru corrected with some annoyance on his voice.

"Mwah, hah, hah. And you're gonna bring Misora along to let her show her latest make-up?"

"Misora – chan hates make – up!"

"Don't all females wear that?"

"It's a matter of tastes! Now go scatter lilies!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! Wait 'till everyone hears this out: ya and Misora ARE a COUPLE, yessir!"

"WAR ROCK! I'm gonna get angry!"

"Call Angry Man! Wi~!" He suddenly made a pitchy sound.

"What was that?" Subaru frowned.

"Wi~!"

"Oi! What was that, War Rock?"

"You're very clever when it comes to landing! Very clever indeed!" He suddenly laughed.

"To landing _what_?"

"Your aunt."

"WHAT?" He roared.

"Which is uglier than mine, too!"

"You DON'T have an AUNT!" Subaru grumbled.

"Now I do!"

"No way… Omega – san came up with new trolls and he's telling you to try them out on me or what?" Subaru cursed.

"Yessir! _Meitantei_ Subari~ strikes back! Bring me a bottle of rum and let's sail the eleven seas!" He laughed.

"The seven seas, you mean!" Subaru corrected.

"Wi~! Let's conquer the Empire State! Mwa, hah, hah!"

"What nonsense is that?"

"It ain't nonsense: it's fashion, ya see!"

"FASHION? That ain't fashion! That's mere trolling!"

"As expected of ya, apprentice lawyer!"

"I'm not an apprentice lawyer! Go…"

"…call Kasumi!"

"Kasumi? Who's that?" Subaru frowned.

"Your new over-jealous classmate, yessir."

"There's no – one named "Kasumi" in my class and none of them are over-jealous! Why should they?"

"'Cause ya stole their boyfriends with your looks, ya know…"

"GRFJTX! I've had enough! Flee, foul beast!"

"I only have one wish. To use this foul blade to bury all "Light"!" War Rock quoted from somewhere else.

"What have I done to deserve THIS?"

"Dunno!"

"If you make any idiotic things tomorrow then… Server locking time for you!" He threatened.

"Yikes." War Rock gulped.

"Get it?"

"Alright, alright! I don't wanna spend another two months there!" War Rock gasped.

"That happened because you were acting the idiot and trying to provoke Boss and us. Now shut up and let me write the mail to Misora – chan: I'll then tell dad and mom."

War Rock sighed and shut up while Subaru wrote a reply email and then shut down the Hunter – VG.

_An announcement… Maybe it's a new kind of revolutionary project? Man! I'm burning with impatience! I can't wait! Heh, heh, heh! I'll finally get to visit the famous lab…!_


	2. Chapter 2: Robbery

**Chapter 2: Robbery**

19:45 PM (Japan Time), Saturday February the 4th…

"… Here we are, ladies and gentlemen."

A taxi came to halt in front of a big building which had a banner above the door with the name "SHINAIDES RESEARCH LAB" written there.

"Alright. Come down, you two. I pay."

"OK, dad. Over here, Veronica – chan."

"Tee, heh, heh."

The taxi's doors opened. Daigo stepped out, followed by Subaru and a girl around his age.

The girl, "Veronica", wore a brownish hat and sunglasses while sporting a pink dress with a knee-long skirt.

Subaru and Daigo, on the other hand, wore just tuxedos.

"Veronica" had closed her right arm around Subaru's left arm and he was blushing a bit: Daigo formed a smile.

"Let's go inside."

They stepped into the hall and were greeted by a clerk: he looked around Subaru's height, if not slightly taller: his brown hair was neatly combed and his eyes' irises were cobalt blue in color.

He wore a white lab coat and blackish sneakers plus having a mask for the cold on.

"Welcome… May I have your names?" The clerk asked, repressing a cough.

"Hoshikawa Daigo. That's my son, Subaru." Daigo announced.

"And the miss' name is…?"

"Danden Veronica." She announced.

"Roger. The conference will be held in the meeting room, 2nd floor."

"I seem to remember there were elevators…" Daigo brought up.

"Yes, sir. Over there, sir."

"Thank you. Be wary of these colds: they tend to become flu when you lower the guard..."

"Ah… Thank you, sir."

The group of three headed for the elevator: Subaru was constantly looking around in a nervous manner while Daigo smiled at him.

"Don't worry about the nosy reporters. I'll handle them. When I say that I can make the whole of WAXA complain then they won't dare to do anything stupid." Daigo whispered.

"Phew."

"Yeah. I wouldn't want them to make up some story just for the sake of selling magazines." "Veronica" muttered.

"Mwah, hah, hah." War Rock chuckled.

"Wanna meet Boss' wrath?"

"Eh… No, no…"

"Then be quiet. And don't interrupt the conference either. Go have a taste of Kyoto's Viruses instead so that you can say you can bust more of them than Ox can." Subaru challenged.

"Pororon! Yeah. Leave us in peace, bully."

"Wha~t? I'll show ya~!"

"Phew. We shook the guy off!" Subaru sighed in relief.

"Really…" Daigo rolled his eyes.

"He won't learn his place!" "Veronica" cursed.

"He won't. I'll have to ask Boss for another favor, I guess."

"Pororon! Learn your place!"

19:53 PM (Japan Time…

"… All of the guests came, so it's time to contact my Lord. We need to proceed to the next stage of the plan!"

The clerk rushed into a cleaning closet filled with cleaning products, brooms and mops: he took out a Hunter – VG and dialed a number: the line connected yet the screen didn't display anything.

"Code." A man's voice ordered.

"When the curtain falls then the drama can begin."

"2nd Code."

"When the curtain rises, the public shall bow to the magnificence of the great actor."

"3rd Code."

"In the end, dramas favor the scriptwriter."

"Good, good!"

"Don't get cocky." A second voice rang out.

"Che. You shut up!"

"He who warns…"

"…a traitor is not! I knew that! Now be silent!"

"_Hai_, _hai_…"

"Anyway! Remember to act as scripted, my disciple! If you do that then there'll be no problems. Get me?"

"Roger, my Lord. By thou will."

The "clerk" ended the call and pressed a button on the Hunter – VG to project a golden eye into his forehead: he then chuckled under his breath and seemed to smile under the mask.

_My Lord's scheme is perfect!_

19:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Yikes. There they are…!"

"Calm down!"

"Leave them to me and pick your seats."

The group had entered the room where the presentation was to take place at: four or five reporters were sitting on a corner and chatting so Subaru gulped and "Veronica" hushed to him while Daigo put a serious face.

"Look! That's Hoshikawa Subaru - kun!" One reporter whispered to another.

"Who could his partner be?" Another wondered.

"Ahem, ahem!"

Both men turned around to see Daigo standing there with a rather unpleased face.

"Ah! Hoshikawa Daigo – san!" The first reported uttered.

"A warning: if I see any hints of some made-up tale, then I'm going to sue you people. All of WAXA will back me up." Daigo warned.

"U-understood." The second reporter gulped.

"I have warned you."

He walked away and sat down on the chair to Subaru's right with a smile on his face.

"There."

The lights began to dim and some spotlights ignited to illuminate the stage as a man walked into it.

The man looked on his forties and had a fine black moustache plus black hair plus he appealed to be about a meter and eighty tall.

He was wearing a lab coat over a black suit and tie plus pants and shoes.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. I am Professor Shinaides Amedan: head of the Shinaides Research Lab." The man introduced himself.

There was a round of clapping.

"Ahem! Thank you. The reason I have gathered all of you ladies and gentlemen here tonight is because I have a very important announcement to make. We have managed to develop an invention which is going to be a revolution in the field of modern physics."

Whispers began to fill the room.

"I suppose you must be eager to know it. I shall go fetch the files and announce it. Please wait for a few minutes."

He exited the stage and the whispers began to climb in volume: the reporters could be heard speculating.

"A time machine! I swear! A time machine!" One exclaimed while trying to catch the attention of the other four.

"You've seen too many movies. A new Denpa Device." Another replied in a skeptical tone of voice.

"Nah! A holo – deck!" The third grinned.

"What's that?" The other four asked.

"A VR Simulator!" He repeated.

"No big deal, really." The skeptical one shrugged.

"Wha~t?" He growled.

"Come on! It's not like they do magic: their specialty is Denpa Devices and maintenance of them! A new department began to investigate particle physics, so maybe some kind of particle accelerator. Who knows? Maybe we're gonna crack the Higgs boson enigma!"

"Whoa! That'd be cool!" The fifth one gasped.

"Man! I can't wait to see it!" Subaru muttered while sounding like he'd been dragged in by the excitement.

19:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh. Enjoying the show, Hoshikawa~? Too bad I can't slice your neck off right there and now… Now that'd be a nice drama but my Lord's anger would be terrible and it ain't worth angering my Lord so I gotta hold back… Anyway… That's not the reason I'm here tonight either so let's get to work. First let's check on the timing. The old man will try to enter the basement at around 20:00 PM. That's when I gotta pull the trick so let's get into the power room…"

The "clerk" chuckled as he pressed his right hand's middle and index fingers against a cordless earphone he carried on his right ear: he rushed into what had the looks of a power room and found a control panel with a "Real Wave" screen hovering over it.

"Nothing brute… Just a little tricky gadget… Heh, heh, heh. My Lord is a genius, ya know."

He connected his Hunter – VG to the console with a wire and inputted some commands: an access window popped out and the username "PSHINAIDES" plus a ten digit – long password were inputted into it before the "OK" symbol popped out and the menu appeared on-screen: the "clerk" chuckled as a vein on the right side of his forehead hardened and popped out.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Too easy… 1 minute left. Alright, gramps… Head over to your post… You're gonna know what it means to go to sleep in a rough manner. Heh, heh, heh."

"… Input voice password…"

"… Shinaides Amaran."

"Password accepted."

"NOW!"

The clerk brusquely pulled a level down and all of the machines suddenly stopped: all lights were turned off and the whole of the room became pitch-black: the only light was the creepy golden eye…

20:00 PM (Japan Time)…

BRRRRRO~M!

"Kya~h!"

"An earthquake!"

"I can't see!"

"The emergency lights! Why aren't they on?"

"Run!"

"Nobody move! Calm down!"

The conference room was a chaos given the total lack of lighting until three glowing Hunter – VGs were lifted into the air: the people stopped moving around after they heard a loud rumble which seemed to shake the very foundations of the laboratory.

"Alright. Calm down, calm down. We'll go check it out."

The ones using the Hunter – VGs were revealed to be Daigo, Subaru and "Veronica" so the audience began to calm down.

"Subaru, Veronica – chan! Go check it out. I'll handle things over here. Ask the clerk for the power room: I remember there was one. And try to find the Prof, too."

"Roger!"

Both ran out and climbed down the stairs into the lobby: they flashed their Hunter – VGs around and found the "clerk" hiding behind the desk apparently scared.

"This place is gonna collapse~!"

"Calm down! Where's the power room? We need to turn the power back on!"

"Huh? Eh… O-over there…"

"Thank you!"

They ran out yet the "clerk" looked up and smiled under the mask as his eyes became injected and seemed to display a murderous lust into them: he chuckled and jumped over the desk as he rushed towards the main door which had been left partly unlocked.

"Too easy."

He ran out into the street and hid in a nearby alleyway just as the sirens from ambulances, patrol cars and fire-fighters' trucks rang out: he chuckled and tossed out the mask for the cold.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah."

He turned on the earphone and listened.

"… Here. The power room… Huh? Someone manually pulled the main level down? Weird. It's supposed to be program-locked!"

"Whatever. Let's turn this on again."

"Heh, heh, heh. Yeah. And then go wake gramps up… Then the little drama can begin… Mwah, hah, hah."

He looked at how the building began to shine again and chuckled under his breath as he picked a spot to hide at: behind some garbage bins and bags.

"… The basement door is open… Grah! What dust…! Cover your mouth, Veronica – chan!"

"Yeah. Harp! Can you detect anything?"

"Pororon! Yeah. A human signature… A few steps ahead."

"Ah! T-this is… Professor Shinaides! Are you alright, sir? Help me drag him to the upper level… That door got violently open, too, and the source of the dust seems to be in the basement…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Alright. Enough… Gotta go meet my Lord and we can celebrate our triumph…"

He chuckled and ran out while his face turned psychotic…

20:04 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Professor!"

"Professor!"

"Prof!"

"Ugh… My head… Huh… Where am I?"

"The ground floor, sir…"

"Oh! Subaru – kun, Daigo – san…. Eh…"

"Veronica, sir."

"Veronica – chan? Huh… What happened?"

Professor Shinaides had been seated in a chair placed in the lobby and looked groggy as he woke up: Daigo, Subaru and "Veronica" had gathered around him.

"Someone purposefully turned all lights off and there was a brutal tremor which shook the building… And now dust is seeping from the basement entrance…" Subaru summed up.

TCH – TCH – TCH – TCH!

"W-what was that?" "Veronica" gasped.

"From the sound of it… A water pipe breaking open…"

"Water pipe…! No good…! If the water enters the vault, then…! The schematics will be lost…!" Professor Shinaides gasped.

"Huh? But the vault is a totally sealed chamber, right?"

"Technically, yes… Yet… It was built atop one or two floors of the old underground galleries… And if one of them collapsed… Then the ground may give in due to the water and the flooding could drag all things inside with it into the depths of the earth…!" He explained in a rush.

"Crap! Then we gotta do something about it! We need to get into the vault and rescue the schematics!" Subaru exclaimed.

"T-too…"

"Dangerous? No, sir! We are Satella Police members! And we can Denpa – Henkan, too! Simply tell us how to get into the vault, sir!" Subaru smiled at him.

"Huh… Alright. Of course… Someone who defeated a whole meteor can't think of this as dangerous… Alright… Go down the stairs where you found me and keep straight down. You'll enter a gallery which ends in the vault door… It might have jumped off the frame due to the shock… An armored box with a data storage unit is inside… Pick it and come back before the vault floods…" He instructed.

"Roger! Let's go!"

"Yay!"

"Denpa – Henkan! On Air!"

Both transformed into Rock Man and Harp Note respectively and hurried down the stairs: they walked past the open door and down a flight of stairs into an unlit gallery.

"Whoa! Look at that."

"Daigo – san was right: the pipe has burst!"

A torrent of water emerged from the left side and was projecting at the NE corner of the vault ceiling thus slowly filling the ground with water which wasn't ankle-deep yet but was quickly climbing: dust lingered around the gallery.

"The vault is beyond that. Let's rush it up!"

"Mwah, hah, hah. Vault of vaulted vaults?" War Rock joked.

"This ain't the time for jokes." Harp Note scolded.

"Pororon! Yeah! Shut up and move!"

"Move the moving movement?"

"Whatever."

They raced past the water and found the armored vault door: it had dislodged from the frame and was hanging towards the right thus leaving a gap wide enough for someone to come inside.

"I'll go. Cover me."

"Roger."

Rock Man stepped inside and spotted how a large crack had formed on the ground and a hole had opened: it was flooding with water.

"The Prof was right… The ground gave in!"

"Prof Profs Prof!"

"Shut up already!"

Rock Man aimed his built-in flashlight forward and spotted the box: he picked it up and then headed for the opening.

"Hmmm… Sorry, Professor."

He tossed it beyond it before crossing through the opening and picking the box back up.

"Let's go!"

"Roger!"

They raced out of the basement and back into the ground floor: Daigo had given Professor Shinaides a glass of water which he was drinking: he finished it and ran towards them.

"Did you get it?" The Professor asked with eagerness.

"We did it! Here you have." Rock Man handed it to him.

"Thank goodness!"

"Phew. At least we didn't get dust into us." Harp Note muttered.

"W-what in the world!" Professor Shinaides gasped.

"What's wrong?"

"This!"

Professor Shinaides had connected the Hunter – VG to the storage unit and a message was being displayed onscreen.

"Hello! _Ladies and gentlemen_! I've gotten Prof Shinaides' newest invention. Try to get it back! This is a challenge from a noble man. Yours humbly, Hyde."

"What in the…?" Professor Shinaides uttered.

"Hyde! It's signed by Hyde!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Who's this "Hyde" person?" Professor Shinaides asked.

"He was one of the instigators of the Mu Continent Affair… He became a power-obsessed idiot after that and we kept on beating him up… Two months ago he was working for some foreign power intended on invading Japan using a network of stations which could control weather at will… He vanished afterwards and his current whereabouts are unknown… We weren't expecting him to organize such a _coup_…" Subaru narrated.

"Then…! The explosion…!" Daigo gasped.

"It wasn't accidental! They used it to get into the vault!"

"But if they wanted to… Why didn't they do it time ago? I finished work on it one month ago and we were in the midst of the testing stage!"

"Dunno. Maybe he thought it'd be far more dramatic to steal it just when it was going to be revealed." Subaru shrugged.

"A scandal wouldn't favor anyone. Let's cover up saying it was an accident." Daigo suggested.

"Yeah. That'd be better." "Veronica" agreed on it.

"What a lovely evening!" Professor Shinaides cursed.

"Hyde is now laughing at us, too. We've underestimated the jerk and this is the price way!"

_Hyde…! You and I have a score to settle… And I'll settle it!_


	3. Chapter 3: Failed attempt

**Chapter 3: Failed attempt**

22:02 PM (Japan Time), Saturday February the 4th…

"… Professor Shinaides' newest invention schematics vanish into the depths of the earth along with his vault… Heh! I know some dudes at the "Underground Inspection Service" who are going to have some headaches…"

"Yessir. They're gonna have to fire them."

Two men were discussing inside of a newspapers' office as they worked on the front page of the newspaper with the headline "PROFESSOR SHINAIDES' NEWEST INVENTION SWALLOWED BY THE EARTH" on the very top of the page.

"Dotaron is gonna faint from reading this. I know he was hired to check if the place to build the vault was safe enough." One of them laughed.

"Oh? Dotaron… That does sound like a short-sighted guy if ya want my opinion, Yamato…"

"Of course he is. He'll end up begging, Shiakase!"

"So true, man."

A Hunter – VG rang so Shiakase picked it up and patched the call in yet the screen was black.

"Hello…? What! Hey! Hello, hello!"

"Who was that? Aunt Regula?"

"No! Hyde!"

"Hyde?"

"The mastermind behind the _theft_ of the invention…!"

"By all the…! Theft! Quick, ring Jameson and send him to check!"

"Yeah! He told me "ask the Prof if you don't believe me" so…"

"We're gonna sell like crazy!"

22:12 PM (Japan Time)…

"… It'd seem this has been planned for a while. You don't learn how to set up a bomb so as to only break the floor and force open a vault room in just one day… Hyde surely used any underground entrance and once the bomb exploded, he jumped inside to get the box and left this other storage unit to challenge us…"

Akatsuki had gathered Subaru, "Veronica", Daigo and Professor Shinaides in the now empty conference room to explain them what seemed to be the results of their research insofar.

"Akatsuki! The press is trying to force their way in!" A Commando reported over the radio.

"Tell them there's an ozone leak."

"Ozone leak? Well… Why not…"

A man who looked like a miner came in and Akatsuki walked over to him to shake hands with him.

"How does it look, Chief?"

"The damage itself is more spectacular than dangerous. There's no danger for the adjacent buildings. However, the Shimachi Street exit should be closed off for a while because its subsoil is the most affected one."

"What do you think of the bomb?" Shidou inquired.

"It was a medium-power one model... The ground in the galleries is made up of cheap sand so anyone with enough knowledge would know where to put the bomb. Nishikiko Street is unaffected."

"Alright. Thanks for the help. Go out through Shimachi Street to avoid the noisy press."

"My pleasure."

"Good evening."

"Good evening."

"… Now we know what Hyde has been up to… Incidentally… Professor, we can't find the reception clerk anywhere. Do you know him?" Akatsuki asked him.

"He came in tonight to replace the usual one who caught a fever. He told us that he had a slight cold but someone had to take up the duty of checking the arrival of the guests…" The Professor frowned.

"You know… He reminded me of someone." "Veronica" frowned.

"Did he?"

"I can't place it right now, though."

"I'm sure you'll end up remembering sooner or later."

The main phone rang so Akatsuki picked it up.

"Hello? What? Whose turn is it now? Huh? Channel 10? A billion blue blistering barnacles! You're the tenth to ask the same stuff! Await our press conference! And now please go and book yourself the Royal Diet of Death! Have a good night!"

Akatsuki placed the receiver back on its place and shrugged.

"Shidou…" Acid grumbled.

"Come on, Acid… That's the way to deal with them." Akatsuki smiled.

The phone rang again so Akatsuki picked it up yet again.

"Sheesh! Who…? Huh? Professor Shinaides? What do ya want outta him, huh? Hey! Hey! They ran… Oho! These media people wanted to catch someone who was an easier speaker? Crafty." Akatsuki realized with a grin as he left the phone back on its place.

"Guess so."Acid shrugged.

"I'll treat them to Queen Tia's Icy Stare of Death!"

"That'd do wonders, really." Misora muttered.

"Fua~h… Let's go back to Kodama Town already." Subaru yawned.

10:10 AM (Japan Time), Sunday February the 5th…

"… Whoa. What security."

"No wonder."

"Halt. IDs."

"Here."

"Ah. Hoshikawa and Hibiki. All's green. Come in."

"Thank you, sir."

Subaru (sporting his usual red shirt and blue shorts plus his boots, the pendant and the "Visualizer) and "Veronica" (sporting a brown overcoat and boots) came to the lab the next morning only to find Commandos placed on the main entrance and watching the surrounding areas: both handed a Commando their IDs and he smiled upon recognizing them so he opened the door.

"Close."

The Commando closed the door once they came in and "Veronica" removed the sunglasses and cap to reveal that she was Misora: she also took off the overcoat to reveal her usual pink sweater and a pair of bluish jeans: she stored them into a bag she carried.

"Phew. Like this we can ditch those media people."

"Yeah. Thankfully."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. Meddling media of meddlers!" War Rock made another stupid pun.

"Yeah, yeah. I know that tune." Akatsuki yawned as he walked over to their position to greet them.

"Akatsuki – san, sir… Have you even slept, sir?" Subaru politely asked of him.

"Dr. Yoiri chased me over that so I borrowed an empty room to make a nap…" He shrugged

"What's the situation like, though?" Misora asked.

"Well… The main phone has been ringing nonstop… And every time I try to answer they hang up. They must be the media people who are scared of me since I said I was gonna force them into the Royal Diet of Death and the Icy Stare of Death." Akatsuki shrugged and chuckled.

Acid grumbled something under his breath and looked away while being clearly tired of Akatsuki's attitude.

"How's the Professor?" Misora asked.

"He's rather hysterical… No surprise, seeing how the media are not giving him time to breathe, even… I'll go talk with the men outside. The Prof is on his office. The usual clerk will guide you."

Akatsuki left and a clerk different from last night came in: he was a young man on his 20s with brownish hair and eyes.

He sported the lab coat over a bluish shirt, jeans and sneakers plus reading glasses.

"Ahem… Good morning. My name is Mike. If you'd be as kind as to follow me… We'll go see the Professor."

They followed Mike until they reached a door labeled "Professor Shinaides" and Mike knocked on it.

"Leave me alone, I'm telling you!" An angry voice replied.

"Professor, Hoshikawa – san and Hibiki – san have come to visit..." Mike announced.

Footsteps could be heard and Professor Shinaides opened the door: he looked quite distressed.

"Oh… I apologize. I thought it was another of those reporters…" He looked guilty.

"It's totally logical, Professor. May we come in?" Subaru requested.

"Please do so…"

They stepped inside of the office which had a window overlooking the backyard.

The main piece of furniture was a desk filled with loose sheets of papers and an LCD screen and there also was a cupboard on the west side of the wall.

"Incidentally… What was your newest invention about, Professor?" Subaru asked.

"It's something designed after a long time of studying Time-Space physics by our new department… I theorized that if one knew the coordinates of a place, a "portal" could be designed to travel there by going through the curvature of Time-Space… The travel time would be measured in a ridiculous amount of milliseconds since they would be almost light-speed… A field of atoms would protect the subject and make sure they can resist the brutal accelerations… No special equipment should be needed since the subject wouldn't even have to react at all…" Professor Shinaides elucidated.

"Oh. I see. In fact… I've already travelled with an identical device several times…" Subaru commented.

Professor Shinaides' jaw hit the floor.

"Someone has ALREADY built such a device? WHY haven't I heard of it before?" He asked while leaning on the desk.

"Well… That person… doesn't wish any fame upon himself… He's a rather discrete person… But he's very skilled at Time-Space physics, robotics and genetic engineering…"

"WHERE is this incredible person? I MUST know him!" Professor Shinaides exclaimed.

"Oh. I could arrange for a meeting… This same office would do fine, perhaps?" Subaru suggested.

"If he wants discretion then it's a good idea. What is his name?"

"He's named Mr. Vadous although I always call him "Boss"…"

"Wait a min, please! I've heard this name before…" Professor Shinaides commented.

"Was it on a book titled "Albert's Adventures" written by Kazimura Albert?"

"That was where I read it, indeed!"

The Professor opened a drawer and took the book out.

"Amazing! Hard to believe what's written in here really happened and it's not some fiction work!" The Professor exclaimed.

"… Could you please keep a secret?" Subaru requested.

"Of course."

"I am the author." Subaru admitted while blushing a bit.

Professor Shinaides' jaw hit the floor again.

"T-this is incredible! Subaru – kun! You've given surprise after surprise today!" He exclaimed.

"W-well… Guess so…"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! This guy won't admit he's got enough brains to rival that Ein-something guy!"

"Rival Einstein? No way! I'm not a prodigy child!"

"Tee, heh, heh. I wonder about that." Misora giggled.

"Not you too, Misora – chan…!" He groaned.

"Pororon! That'd be amusing." Harp giggled.

"Do excuse them, Professor, they aren't being serious, sir… They're overrating me, sir!" Subaru apologized.

"No, no… No need to worry…"

"Ah… Thank you."

"Professor, sir?"

"What's up, Mike?"

Mike had knocked on the door and come inside the room.

"Two technicians from the Underground Inspection Service have come to talk with Mr. Professor regarding the vault's status…"

"Oh. I'll go meet them. Excuse me, but we'll continue this conversation later on."

"Roger, sir."

Professor Shinaides and Mike walked out: Misora leant her back against the right wall next to the window while Subaru glanced at some 3D images of some devices.

"Wow." He muttered.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Wanna copycat 'em?"

"Of course not…"

"Ya wanna! Ya wanna listen to Moon Ace's 10 – hour long extravaganza too!" War Rock laughed.

"Moon _Disaster_…" Subaru corrected.

"Acid Disaster and Moon Ace! Mwah, hah, hah, hah."

"I give up." He sighed.

"Subaru – kun! Look… There are a lot of technicians… Three or four of them besides the two who came in… And they've parked on the Shinmachi Street exit which is supposed to be dangerous…" Misora whispered.

"So? Maybe they're just testing the state of the pavement."

"With a laser sub-machinegun?"

"WHAT?"

Subaru ran to the window and saw one of the men carrying one half-hidden under his right arm: he looked at Misora and both seemed to realize it on the spot.

"HELP!" Professor Shinaides called out.

"Crap! Thugs hired by Hyde!"

"The jerk!"

"Misora - chan! Go deal with the guys in the backyard! I'll deal with the ones inside!" Subaru instructed.

"Roger!"

"Mwah, hah, hah. Some nice action!"

"Denpa – Henkan! On Air!"

Both transformed into their Denpa – Henkan forms and split off: Rock Man ran down the main stairs and drew a Mad Vulcan X Battle Card: he jumped over the railing and landed in the lobby where two thugs were trying to seize the struggling Professor Shinaides.

"Halt!"

"Another Carnival kiddo?"

"I'd say this guy's not the Boss' man…"

"Huh? Carnival kiddo…? Wait! If you work for Hyde, then you must mean…!"

"Yeah! They mean the great me! Hah!"

"Yikes!"

"Been a while~!"

"Y-you're…!"

Rock Man ducked to dodge a _shuriken_ which got stuck into the wall and whipped around to see an opponent facing him.

The opponent appealed as being over a meter and sixty tall and wore a pitch-black bodysuit reminiscent of _ninja_ clothing including a purplish cape hanging from behind his shoulders, two metallic _shuriken_ on his shoulders and knees plus a utility belt.

His face was largely hidden by a balaclava while his brownish teal hair came out from an opening behind it in a totally spiky and wild manner: his eyes' irises' were blood red in color.

A small green _shuriken_ glowed on his forehead, too.

He also carried a _katana_ sheath attached to his back using a leather band which circled his body from the left shoulder until close to the right hip: it was painted purple and black while being decorated with four black dots around it.

Overall he looked like a _ninja_ armed to the teeth yet he didn't strike out as being much older than Rock Man.

"Assassin… Shinobi! The Alphabet Murderer!"

"What! That Carnival kiddo is THE Alphabet Murderer?"

"I thought it was a foreign agent!"

"You two! Chit – chat for later or no money! Take the gramps to the car and rush out! I'll catch up later!" He ordered.

"Look, better listen or we'll be the next ones on the list."

"Y-yeah. Come 'ere, gramps!"

"Now… I'd love to slice your neck here and now but my orders don't involve that and you lowlife are my Lord's personal prey. Instead I'll dig out your worst nightmares… Go, Assassin!"

"Not so fast! Take this!"

Rock Man suddenly jumped towards the left and picked a fire extinguisher: he aimed the hose at Assassin Shinobi's face and sprayed him with the foam thus momentarily blinding him: he tackled him and they began to roll down one corridor while trying to hit each other using the punches and the kicks.

"T-this JERK!"

"Says the punk!"

"Take this, ugly grunts! Shock Note!"

"Grah! This little girl…!"

"I'll…!"

"Shock Note!"

Rock Man and Assassin Shinobi rolled out into the rear yard where Harp Note was busy beating the crap outta the thugs.

"Yo~! Mars Warrior joins the party too~! B-B-B-Bertie~!"

"O-Omega – san?" Rock Man gasped.

"What the hell! Omega, you say!"

"Yessir!"

Someone dropped into the midst of the yard and landed atop the vehicle the thugs had readied: he seemed to be about a meter and eighty tall.

A blue jewel shaped like an inverted triangle was set on the forehead of his helmet which was emitting a cross-shaped flash.

His eyes' irises were blue and they displayed amusement while long blond hair came out from behind him and reached until the floor.

He had a red vest over his mainly black body and red armor over his forearms and boots: two golden circlets were set around his forearms and on his boots as well.

"Calling on Omega~!"

"The hell! This is too much! Let's flee! Assassin! Smoke Curtain! Have at ya~!"

The thugs dropped Professor Shinaides and rushed into the van as a cloud of black smoke formed around the yard: the van fled and the three fighters stood there as the smoke dissipated.

"Bloody Hyde!" Harp Note cursed.

_Hyde…! I won't let you get away with this! I, Rock Man, won't!_


	4. Chapter 4: Nocturnal assault

**Chapter 4: Nocturnal assault**

16:44 PM (Japan Time), Sunday February the 5th…

"… IDs."

"Here."

"All's green. Come in. Lock the door behind you."

"Roger, sir."

Subaru and "Veronica" came inside of the lobby and found Akatsuki eating some "Sweet Candy" at his usual mad speed: he was tapping the desk with his right hand's fingers to show his impatience.

"Akatsuki – san… The Professor…?"

"He's unhurt yet the medic has told me he's gotten a bad fright. He's about to explode from the stress and I dunno why Hyde would go to the trouble of abducting him." He grumbled.

"Maybe he wants to know how to configure the machine? That might have not been included in the schematics."

"Good idea. Makes sense, too."

"And Boss contacted me, too…" Subaru let out.

"Vadous did? What did he say?"

"He got an idea. It's somewhat risky, though… We'd reduce the number of visible Commandos to a minimum and deploy around all possible window entrances of the lab… Hyde will not resist the temptation and will surely come so we can circle them from all sides at the same time and catch him!" Subaru explained.

"Risky, yeah, but it can work. Don't you think so, Acid?"

"It sounds possible given Hyde's character."

"Good. I'll speak it with the Chief. We're gonna stake on it."

_Hyde! Show your hide… We'll settle our score!_

19:45 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Look, Subaru – kun… Professor Shinaides is climbing down and heading for the library…"

"Maybe he wants to pick a book to keep his mind busy…"

Rock Man and Harp Note were looking into the hall from a set of stairs leading to a basement floor: Professor Shinaides had a flashlight on his right hand which he used to illuminate the lobby until he opened the library's doors and turned on the light: he remained there, in the entrance, without moving, as if reflecting.

"Mmmppphhh!" A muffled voice rang out from somewhere.

"What!"

Professor Shinaides gasped and quickly ran upstairs without bothering to turn off the library's lights or shut the door.

"Something's happened!" Rock Man gasped.

"Let's follow him!" Harp Note rallied.

They ran towards the staircases but an energy barrier popped out of nowhere without warning: they collided against it and were propelled towards the open door to then roll down some stairs and land in the basement room.

"O~w… Are you alright, Harp Note?" Rock Man asked as he massaged his body which was aching in several spots.

"Ouch… I think so…"

They both stood up and looked upstairs from where a pale orange glow was being emitted.

"Anti – Denpa Virus barriers… It'd seem Hyde has gotten his hands into some of them…" Rock Man grumbled.

"And they're already scattered around the building… This is bad."

"Mmmppphhh!"

The same muffled yell could be heard again, closer this time: they looked towards the left to spot Mike tied and gagged inside of a closet.

"Mike – san!"

Rock Man quickly untied him and Mike sighed in relief.

"What has happened?" Rock Man asked.

"I was keeping an eye out when someone snuck behind me and knocked me out… When I awoke… I was here." Mike explained.

"We should go protect the Professor!" Harp Note exclaimed.

They ran upstairs and found another barrier blocking their way out.

"Devils! They blocked us!" Rock Man cursed.

"Is there any other path?" Harp Note asked.

"We could try going out into the backyard…" Mike suggested.

"Please lead the way." Rock Man requested.

They reached the door to the backyard only to find out blocked off as well by the already omnipresent orange glow.

"Che." War Rock grumbled.

"Pororon! What cowards."

"What other paths do we have?" Harp Note asked Mike with a hint of exasperation on her voice.

"There's another staircase which connects with the Professor's bathroom…" Mike told them.

They headed towards the door and found it untouched but it was made of steel and was locked, however.

"We should force it off silently: Hyde could've come with some thugs to help him set the barriers quickly and at the same time. I'm sure Shinobi memorized the stairs and such when he posed as the clerk yesterday night..!" Rock Man whispered.

19:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Those two are out of commission for the time being… We should go catch the big fish."

Phantom Black was standing in the hall along with Assassin Shinobi and the other two or three thugs.

"Shinobi. Lead the way." He ordered.

"Roger, Phantom Black – sama."

Both of them climbed up and headed towards the Professor's living quarters.

"The door is thick and bullet – proof… We'll have to force it without making too much noise…" Assassin Shinobi explained.

"Discretion is a gentleman's first rule." Phantom Black formed a smug smile.

"You made that up on the spot." Phantom sighed.

"Shut the beak up!" He whispered back.

"Alright, alright."

"Gu." A voice rang out.

"What did the Halloween ghost say?" Phantom Black questioned.

"He wishes blood." Phantom apparently translated.

"Not tonight! We need the man alive."

"Zu."

"He's disappointed."

"Remind that Halloween ghost who is in charge!" He growled with increasing annoyance.

"Alright, alright. _Kanos, zute, agos_. He is charge. Obey."

"Open!"

They ran inside only to find the room empty: but a tossed chair near the bathroom door signaled that the Professor had been there and rushed into the bathroom.

"There's another stair past that but I locked the door. He can go either up and down but we'll end up cornering him." Assassin Shinobi whispered to Phantom Black.

"Heh! Good, good! Force that door open. Silently."

"Roger."

Assassin Shinobi took out a lock-pick and began to toy with the lock only to quickly stop.

"Uh-oh. There's an extra lock which can only be opened from the inside, my Lord."

"Whatever! Ram it down!"

"Roger."

Assassin Shinobi began to tackle the door with his right shoulder and it began to shake: the sounds of footsteps running up past the door could be heard.

"Hah! The chicken is trying to go upwards! Finish ramming it down and let's go catch the guy!" Phantom Black grinned.

"Hra~h!"

Assassin Shinobi rammed down the door only to find Rock Man and Harp Note standing inside of the bathroom with a Mad Vulcan X drawn: he gasped and Phantom Black immediately switched to his "angered mode" given his facial expression.

"Hell! Phantom Claw!"" Phantom Black roared.

"Death _Shuriken_!"

"Mad Vulcan X!"

"Mad Vulcan X!"

19:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Oi, Blood! That's the signal, ain't it?"

"Yeah, Sigma!"

"COME AT FULL POWER!"

"Let's go!"

"That's Blood Shadow for ya! Hah!"

Two Wizards had been hiding in the bushes near the east wing of the laboratory and they now came out upon hearing the sound of a fight ring out through an open window.

"Blood Shadow to the rescue~!"

Blood Shadow looked rather similar to Rock Man but with several design alternations to him: his main color of choice was red.

He sported black shades and a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

"Heh! And Sigma will smash that funny hat! Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Get ready, Phantom Black!"

"Go for it!"

Sigma was about two meters tall and was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which he was currently aiming at the floor in lazy manner.

"Wait for the Super Hero!"

Acid Ace jumped out from behind the bushes and the three of them rushed towards the left entrance.

"B Team! Go through the west wing!"

"Roger!"

"C Team! Main entrance!"

"Roger!"

"D Team! Southern entrance!"

"Roger!"

"His own barriers will prove to be his undoing!"

"Yessir!"

"Don't get cocky, Sigma. We're not here to destroy everything on our wake." Blood Shadow reminded him.

"I knew that, Bloody Shadowy~!"

"Stop with that silly nickname already."

"… Hell! Fall back! Fall back!" Phantom Black yelled from the 2nd floor's window.

"Che! I'll remember…"

"SAVE YOUR SILLY SPEECH FOR LATER, YOU DISGRACED ACTOR!"

"R-roger, my Lord!"

"Disgraced actor? Not bad." Acid Ace grinned.

"B, C and D Teams in position!"

"Roger! We'll be there in 15 seconds!"

The group of three rushed down the corridor leading to the main lobby and spotted one of the barriers.

"Leave them to me! Hra~h! Hah!"

Sigma drove his gigantic sword into the barrier and easily overpowered it thus blowing it up: they spotted Phantom Black and Assassin Shinobi dropping down from the floor above them and running into the main basement staircase only to be chased by Rock Man and Harp Note immediately afterwards.

"Crap! The underground… We didn't seal it up! That's how they were able to come in… Through the collapsed vault…!"

"Let's go!"

"It's over!"

They too rushed down the stairs and caught up with Rock Man and Harp Note who were ducking behind some debris piles near the vault entrance: the pipe had stopped leaking by now and the ground had largely dried yet the whole place was rather humid and slippery by now as well as strongly stinking.

"Careful. The punk is tossing Mini Grenades out. We don't want to risk the integrity of the gallery." Rock Man whispered.

"Let them try…" Blood Shadow challenged.

He aimed his shotgun at the opening and shot a plasma ellipsoid inside of it which exploded and produced a flash: nothing happened and no sound rang out so he seemed to frown under the shades.

"Weird."

"Crap. They must've fled by now! The punk was stalling for time!"

Rock Man ran into the vault and spotted a wood rung ladder set in the hole which had formed on the ground: he climbed it down and ended in a square from where several unlit galleries spawned off.

"Heck. Recklessly going into any of them sans a map would be suicide and no chance of getting out of their maze… How can Hyde navigate such a maze without trouble? Guess we'll need to question the thugs who we rounded up…" He grumbled.

"Oho! Let me question them! I wanna scare their hides!" War Rock laughed.

"No way. That'll be handled by the pros."

"By Omega and Moon Ace, ya mean, Subari~?"

"Nope. By the Satella Police. Now let's go up. Mike – san must've caught up with the Professor, who rushed upstairs. Poor Professor, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd collapsed from the stress of two abduction attempts on the same day." Rock Man sighed.

"Man! Hyde and his punk…!" Harp Note cursed.

"I'm gonna crush his silly hat." Sigma grinned.

"Be serious." Blood Shadow scolded.

"Yeah. I'm not in the mood for jokes but at least we caught his three thugs yet they don't look like the same grunts from the morning. Maybe there are more of them and he's actually started a gang. They could be the culprits behind the recent robbery incidents here in Kyoto, too." Acid Ace explained with a sigh.

"Lovely panorama, really." Rock Man cursed.

"Pororon! What punks." Harp muttered.

"Pursuit sans leads is suicidal. Let us fall back and think our current strategy over again."

"While you do that, we need to get back to Kodama Town. There's school tomorrow. Luckily I had time to do the homework…"

20:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… What? He actually fainted?"

"He did. He needs total rest for 24 hours."

"Man."

"Total rest. I insist. No – one should bother him."

"Lovely."

Akatsuki finished speaking with a medic and sighed in defeat as he sat down on the desk and picked his "Sweet Candy" only to discover that they'd been replaced by white chocolate.

"I can't stand white chocolate! Omega! I know it was you so show your hide!" He grumbled.

"Yo~!" Omega dropped down from the ceiling and grinned.

"So? Are ya gonna do something useful or is your Boss gonna get angry at ya again?" He questioned.

"Well… Maybe." He shrugged.

"Try to find out why the phone lines are all down!"

"Roger, Admiral! Beware of the senile gramps!"

"By all the…! Move it!"

Omega rushed out while Akatsuki fumed and began to pace around the desk while stuffing both hands in his pockets.

"Hyde must want to sell the schematics and get a fortune outta them but until he figures out how to make the thing work then he ain't gonna give up on his attempts. We sealed the basement up with his barriers… No danger of them coming from there anymore… Che! Hyde…! What a bothersome jerk! I wanna stop him and his punk already! Get ready, you punks!" Akatsuki grumbled.

_The Satella Police will go out full-power against you two!_


	5. Chapter 5: Pursuit and escape

**Chapter 5: Pursuit and escape**

21:14 PM (Japan Time), Sunday February the 5th…

"… Yo~! Admiral! Fixed."

"Fixed… The phone, you mean?"

"Yessir."

"So? What the heck was wrong with the thing?"

"Someone shut the whole network down by manually unplugging all servers, switches and routers… Plus the optical fiber and radio antennas, too…"

"Those two?"

"Oh, no, no. Michael Jackson."

"Who?"

"Michael Jackson! The king of pop!"

"Never heard of him. Gotta be Dr. Yoiri's generation."

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Wait a min. You mean Mike?"

"Michael…"

"Mike did it, alright! Why?"

"Why the why and why?"

"Jeez."

"Maybe because the Professor ordered him to. Or maybe because he thought the phone was driving him crazy…"

Omega returned to the lobby and began to chat with Akatsuki while pulling jokes along which Akatsuki didn't like: Acid began to offer ideas of the reasons behind the incident in his usual dull and monotone voice while shrugging.

"Makes sense. Now, what should we do?"

"Maybe if ya let the Professor pick it up then we'll find out that the caller is his grandma's ghost." Omega joked.

"You mean that Hyde is the caller? He firstly wanted him to admit to the press that Hyde had stolen the stuff and now he wants to abduct him to make it work? He's turning complicated." Akatsuki grumbled.

"Let me show ya my magic. Hop!"

A "Real Wave" screen which displayed a sound graphic (currently flat) popped out into the air: the sound of the phone rang out.

"… Professor, sir! Should I…?" Mike's voice rang out.

"No! Please come out! Come out!" The Professor gasped.

"Y-yes, sir…!"

"You bugged his room!" Akatsuki grumbled.

"Ah. But that's not all. Hop."

The graphic turned active and a map of the city popped out while a giggle rang out.

"So! Our science man finally got the guts to face the mastermind! The public was starting to get bored, did you know that? There's nothing worse for an actor than to bore his public… That's an obvious sign of their lack of talent!" Hyde challenged over the phone.

"W-what do you want, you lowlife!"

"Let's make things clear already. The reason I targeted you twice today and I've been trying to drive you hysterical with the phone are little paybacks for the humiliation you made me suffer last night. Do you know what I mean?"

"That I didn't include the instructions on how to calibrate the device and make proper use of it…!"

"No, no. Wrong."

"What do you mean, "wrong"! That's the reason!"

"Close. But you fail at lying."

"Lying! Me! How dare you!"

"I dare. Because you actually… _switched the schematics for a van's schematics_…" Hyde revealed.

"What the hell!" Akatsuki cursed.

"My, my." Omega looked amused.

The map began to draw a circle around a spot of Kyoto and the words "approximate radius 200 meters" formed next to it.

"Narrow it down…" Omega muttered.

"You're tracing the guy. But he's not an idiot. He must be calling from a phone booth." Akatsuki muttered.

"Don't worry, Admiral…" He grinned.

"… What are you talking about?"

"Hmpf! Now you want to play defensive? But it's in vain! Such vanity! It makes me want to laugh at it!" Hyde laughed.

"What?"

"I've realized it by now! You were warned that a rival lab might try to steal the schematics taking advantage of your unique vault and its only weakness…! So you purposely switched the schematics and to fool any insiders you went down to the basement to pick the storage unit yet you would have another one ready somewhere else which was the one which had the schematics you wanted to show to the public…! And even I got fooled by such a petty trick…!"

"Such an invention isn't designed for lowlifes like you to use! It's mean to make outer space exploration easier by sending probes directly there skipping years of travel and be able to relay data back in _live_! That'd be a revolution!"

"But there's a more practical use to it, too! Armies could be mobilized in one instant from spot to spot undetected and spur a new type of invasion warfare… Four nations have set their eyes on it and I'll sell the thing to the highest bidder!" Hyde laughed.

"Boast while you can! The Satella Police will protect me!"

"The Satella Police can do all they want but I won't give up! Yet! I offer you a chance to put an end to this conflict. Hand over the real schematics tomorrow at 19:00 in the Kyoto Imperial Palace Gardens!"

"And what if I don't? What'll you do?" The Professor shot back.

"Hmpf! Then your lab will be burn to the ground!"

"Go ahead! You'll burn the schematics, too!" He was unimpressed.

"Che. Bothersome clever guy!"

"So!"

"Che. I'll remember this…!" Hyde grumbled.

"Call end and… Around Higashiyama Ward Office… Phone booth." Omega read the results of the tracking.

"I see. The Professor replaced the schematics. And Hyde wants the real stuff hence his persistence… But the Professor won't hand them over no matter what. Maybe it'd be better if we let him go to his villa and try to recover there." Akatsuki muttered.

"Yeah. Hyde will try to show up again but he'll find us instead of the Professor and have a thousand troubles chasing his silly cloak. Silly Cloak Man will show up!" Omega giggled.

"Jeez. I'll speak of this with my bosses. Now go gather lilies at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean."

"Roger, Admiral Sweet Candy!"

Omega ran out, giggling, and a twitch formed over Akatsuki's right eye to display that he didn't like the jokes at all…

18:45 PM (Japan Time), Monday February the 6th…

"… There he goes. Let's start the invisible escort in case Hyde tries to intercept him along the way. B Car, C Car, D Car. All ready?"

"A Car. All ready."

"Good. You guys ready?"

"Yes, sir! We're ready to intervene at a moment's notice."

"Good! Ryuusuke! Driving is up to you."

"Delighted."

"Mwah, hah, hah. We're gonna drive straight to Hell!"

"Pororon! Shaddup."

"Your logic is somewhat lacking."

Akatsuki, Ryuusuke (one of the Satella Police HQ Commandos), Subaru, Misora, War Rock, Harp and Acid were inside of a camouflaged car parked near the garage exit of the Shinaides Research Lab when a discrete green car came out.

"Operation: Start." Akatsuki commanded over the radio.

"Roger."

The police car allowed for two or three cars get ahead of them and form a queue between them and the target's vehicle to camouflage: they started to follow him and Akatsuki checked his movements with a map.

"Good. He's following the scheduled route and no – one seems to have tried to intercept him yet. Let's watch for those cars just in case. Hyde could've read this move, too." Akatsuki muttered.

"Roger."

The professor's car suddenly veered to the right in a brusque manner and everyone looked surprised.

"Weird. Is that a shortcut?"

"Negative. That's the direction to Kyoto Imperial Palace Gardens."

"No way he's gonna hand over the stuff… Or maybe he wants to be bait to draw Hyde out and let us catch him… Good! B, C, D! Change of plans: surround the Kyoto Imperial Palace Gardens and all of its entrances! No need for hiding! Bring out all units! Cut off all Wave Roads there too and set up the barriers! Time is a must!" Akatsuki ordered.

"Acknowledged."

"Full gas, Ryuusuke!"

"Delighted! Brace yourselves! HROA~H!"

The car shot ahead and Akatsuki turned the siren on to begin catching up with the Professor's car which kept the same route: they ran past the car and gasped when they saw Shinobi (without the _shuriken_ on his shoulders and knees and with his suit looking less thicker) holding a stylized dagger in front of the Professor by leaning over from the rear seats.

"By all the…! Hyde read us! The Professor didn't intend to go there to begin with: Shinobi is forcing him to! Ryuusuke! Cut him!"

"Roger!"

Ryuusuke accelerated and brusquely turned to the left to get in the middle of the road: the Professor's car spun around its axis as he tried to brake and managed to make Shinobi fall down into the rear seat: the car then drove out of the road and ended up crashing against a fence: Shinobi was kicked out through the right (the door opened from the blow) and the Professor ran out into the gardens seemingly out of instinct.

"Crap! Stop, Ryuusuke! Let's go! Seize the punk! Take off all of his weapons, strip the punk if needed! He's the Alphabet Murderer, you know! We'll go catch up with the Professor!"

"Roger!"

Ryuusuke climbed out and quickly handcuffed the knocked out Shinobi while the other three were running towards the gardens to catch up with the Professor.

"Oh! What luck! A taxi…! Taxi!" They heard him mutter aloud.

"Weird. The park should be enclosed. Ah. But the taxi could be part of the gardens' own taxi stand…" Akatsuki muttered.

"There is no taxi stand there." Acid corrected.

"To Kameoka City!"

"Climb in!"

"HYDE!"

VROA~R!

"What in the…! Hyde was driving the taxi…! All units: a taxi will try to force its way out of the park, stop it by all means and…!" Akatsuki commanded over the radio.

CRASH!

"This is East Gate! The taxi broke through the barricade! We're going to chase it!"

"Lovely!" Subaru cursed.

"Sheesh! Bring here the punk: I'm gonna get some straight answers outta him!" Akatsuki growled.

Ryuusuke brought the handcuffed Shinobi who still seemed to be knocked out: Akatsuki seized his clothes by the base of the neck and shoved him around to wake him up.

"Yo! Punk! 20 questions time!"

"Huh? What! W-where?"

"Don't play dumb! Or I'll shave that punk hair." Akatsuki coolly threatened with a grimace on his face.

"A-alright!"

"Your lovely boss just took the Professor into a taxi and drove out! Where is he headed to? Answer me!"

"Huh… Nijo Castle… The catacombs entrance pavilion opened there few years ago… And from there to the base…" He confessed.

"Akatsuki! The taxi has stopped in Nijo Castle and Phantom Black broke his way into the catacombs pavilion: he's headed for the catacombs!"

"Good! We'll bring this punk along as guide. But first let's check what your real look is."

Akatsuki pulled out his balaclava to reveal how Shinobi had teal skin and his brownish hair grew in a wild manner forming triangle patterns: he didn't appeal as being older than 14, even: the golden "eye" was shining on his forehead as well.

"What's that?"

"Eh… Fluorescent painting…" He admitted.

"What does it mean?"

"T-the "Third Eye"? Eh… It was the symbol of a forbidden Mu Continent clan of assassins…" He confessed.

"And they created Assassin, you mean to say. Hence why there were no mass copies back when Dr. Orihime took control of the continent: that guy had been sealed somewhere and then Hyde freed it. And where do you come out from? You have a slight foreign accent like Mors."

"S-south eastern Asia… Forgot the town's name… But there was a big shrine…"

"Dedicated to the _Shinobi_ OOPArt?" Shidou guessed.

"Y-yeah! I use that OOPArt, too…"

"Your name said it all. Don't you have any other name?"

"N-no. I had no name. Hyde – sama granted a name to me."

"Whatever. You'll be our guide like it or not. Let's go to the catacombs already."

"Catacomb Man is waiting! Mwah, hah, hah."

19:11 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Whoa! What a maze! This tunnel is pretty clear but there a lot of secondary tunnels which lead to elsewhere… So! Shinobi! Which is the correct one, hmmm?"

"T-that one. But there's a trap up ahead…"

"And you can release it?"

"If I could use my right hand…"

"Fine. Release the right hand but don't let go of the guy."

"The switch was around here… Oh! Look!"

"What's that stone?"

"A mark! Here, look!"

DZING!

"Grah!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! Have at ya!"

"Won't let you!"

"Come back here!"

"Subaru, Misora! No! Return! It's foolish to chase him!"

Akatsuki, Ryuusuke, Subaru and Misora had been walking down a tunnel accompanied by a guard carrying a flashlight when Shinobi requested that they release his right hand: he picked a stone which he threw at Ryuusuke's visor and then opened a door to run into a secondary tunnel chased by Subaru and Misora despite Akatsuki's commands.

"Hell. Mobilize the underground inspection service! We need to pick their trail… And find Hyde's base! Hurry it up!" Akatsuki growled.

"Roger!"

_Hyde! The time for the final act has come, you jerk!_

19:22 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huff, huff… Where did he go to?"

"Eh… I think he ditched us."

"Crap. Let's go back."

"Oi, Subaru… Did _you_ bother to memorize the way back?"

"Now that you mention it…"

"And you, Misora?"

"Well… Truth is…"

Subaru and Misora stopped in a crossroad to recover their breaths and looked around to try to get their bearings.

"Crap! We got excited trying to chase that punk and now we've gotten lost… Only one way out: try to pick his trail and get to Hyde's base! Denpa – Henkan!"

"Alright! Denpa – Henkan!"

"So? Got a plan?" War Rock asked.

"Pororon! Sure thing."

"Look… There's some painting on the vault ceilings…! They could be marks of where to head to… Let's make use of them!" Rock Man signaled with a smile.

"Heh! Shinobi. What a _baka_ punk. He'll end up leading us to their hideout and Hyde will fall." Harp Note grinned.

"Yeah. Let's tell them they're fired." War Rock grinned.

"Pororon! Time for the decisive battle!"

"Satella Police "Raid Troop"… Move out!" Rock Man rallied.

"Horray!"

_This it! The decisive battle! Come! Hyde!_


	6. Chapter 6: Besieged

**Chapter 6: Besieged**

20:04 PM (Japan Time), Monday February the 6th…

"… Che. How much longer does that old man need to wake up? He didn't carry the stuff in the suitcase…!"

Hyde was standing inside of a stone-made room and looking rather annoyed.

"The dude's awake, _Danna_. Ya can talk to 'im now." A thug climbed up a short set of stairs leading to another room.

"About time!"

Hyde entered another room the center of which had a two-meter deep square pit inside of which Professor Shinaides had been tied to a chair: some rusted pipes and valves could be seen around and the only light came from a portable light.

"My fellow! Are you ready for the inquiries?" Hyde greeted with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Professor Shinaides demanded.

"I want to know where the data drives are at." Hyde announced.

"You know where they are since you stole them!" Professor Shinaides shot back.

"Look! If you want to be smart with yourself, that's fine… But trying to make me look like a fool won't help you. Where are the drives - the _true ones_?" Hyde questioned again.

"I don't know!"

"_Danna_, Shinobi's 'ere…" One thug announced.

"Show him in!" Hyde ordered.

Shinobi ran in while looking quite out of breath.

"I have some bad news, Hyde – sama… The cops forced to show them the way around the tunnels… I shook them off but they could…"

"Quiet." Hyde cut him off.

"Are we in trouble, _Danna_?" One thug asked.

"No, no."

He turned to look at Professor Shinaides.

"Unfortunately enough… The impatience of your guardians forces me to accelerate the procedures… I'll ask one last time: where are the drives?"

"I do not know!" Professor Shinaides shot back.

"Very well… Shinobi!"

Shinobi opened a valve and a loud sound began to echo: the pit was filling with water.

"What is this?" Professor Shinaides demanded.

"A nice interrogation procedure! The water will steadily climb up… And you'll end up submerged!" Hyde explained with a smirk.

"This is murder!" Professor Shinaides roared.

"Don't use such outrageous words if you may! When you feel like talking then we'll stop it." Hyde shot back.

He turned around to look at Shinobi.

"Here are the orders: no exiting into the street, a man down there and no smoking or lights. I'll keep an eye here." Hyde instructed.

"Roger, my Lord."

"Incidentally! Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"Well… I had to admit my name was granted by Hyde – sama and that I use the OOPArt but that they'd already guessed time ago…"

"Hmpf. Fine. Go check on the men: your presence should be enough to keep them serious." He shrugged.

"By your will…"

20:11 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Boulders… We followed the path and we've ended up in this cavern somewhere…"

"Hmmm… I feel a human's presence past the boulders."

Rock Man and Harp Note entered a wide cavern the left side of which had a lot of loose boulders piled on it and some light came from the other side of them plus a stench of tobacco filled the air indicating that someone was smoking.

"Who goes there?" Someone demanded.

"Calm down, fella! That's me, Freddie." A voice replied.

"Oh! Man! Don't give me these scares!" The first man complained.

"What! Scared of the caves, Jimmy?" Freddie mocked.

"I'm serious! I thought there was an intruder…" Jimmy was saying.

"Help! Help!" A familiar voice echoed.

"What was that?" Jimmy asked.

"The science dude who doesn't want to spill the beans..." Freddie replied with a giggle.

"There's the ringing system to call up there but it'd be better if you don't use it, see… Louis doesn't want to be bothered by nothing. And one last thing: smoking is not allowed!" Jimmy added.

"You're a crook, alright." Freddie grumbled.

Jimmy climbed upstairs into one room and met with another thug and Shinobi plus someone else.

"Oi. Who's that?"

"Huh? My Wizard. Assassin."

"Assassin? Looks more like a Halloween ghost rip-off if ya want my opinion, dude."

The so-called "Assassin" was a Wizard reminiscent of a typical ghost, having a white body with no legs and a hood with a Halloween-like face carved on it emerged: its "eyes" shone with reddish light.

"How could ya have the guts to do in 26 jerks?"

"Guess this guy's bloodthirsty nature drives me crazy…"

"Man. You're scary."

"Not my problem."

"Was there a reason to make it so spooky?"

"Hyde – sama thought it'd be a greater drama. But the jerks were rent-a-spy types who could let out the preparations for our clients' invasion of this nation. So there was a need to direct attention elsewhere and it was a test of how serious I am." He shrugged.

"Read somewhere that _ninja_ were assassins who never left any trace behind and were highly coveted for rich jerk assassinations… That guy is behaving just like a real one… Laugh at those Hollywood movies."

"Yeah, yeah. By the way, is the old man gonna talk?"

"Obviously." Shinobi confirmed.

"Good! Then we can sell the stuff and get the big reward."

"But you can't complain that we've paid you guys over your usual fare by now, can you?" Shinobi reminded them.

"Course not…"

"Are ya sure the Carnival kiddos won't find us?"

"Hah. In the midst of that labyrinth? Without knowing the route? Zero chance. They'll wander that place 'till they die." He chuckled.

"Sure thing… Heard about a guy who tried to shortcut through there and ended up wandering there for years before they found him with the shoes all worn out… Survived on water and small animals… Creepy tale I know but that guy's right… They won't make it outta there! Heh, heh!"

"… No more! I'll talk!"

The water had started to climb past the base of Professor Shinaides' neck and he was shivering in cold.

"Alright."

Hyde stopped the valve and then looked at the pit.

"So?"

"T-the library…! The book titled "Big Bang Theory Revised"… Has a hollow compartment… 5th row 6th column…!" He confessed.

"Bravo. Shinobi!"

"You summoned me, my Lord?"

"Yeah. You're in charge. The guy confessed. I'm off to picking the stuff and I'll be back in about an hour's time if all goes well. Tell the guys not to come out into the street and shift every hour." Hyde ordered.

"Roger."

"Ah! By the way. Here are your fakes. Now we're at peace. Enjoy your nap, fellow!" He smugly announced as he tossed a data storage unit with a hermetic plastic container into the pit.

"You lowlife!"

Hyde and Shinobi came out and closed the door.

"Well! No – one is to come there until I come back. Do as you like but Shinobi is in charge until I get back. And any funny tricks and your neck will be sliced. Get it?" He warned.

"Y-yeah,_ Danna_…"

"Good enough. We'll be soon be bathed in money! Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!" Hyde started to laugh in a maniac manner.

"When he gets so cheerful then something is bad is gonna happen. I just know it." Phantom muttered.

20:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I say we've waited long enough. Let's knock that guy out and storm the base."

"Yeah. I agree."

"Heh, heh, heh. Then leave it to me!"

"Pororon! What are ya gonna do?"

Rock Man and Harp Note were whispering about what to do next: War Rock grinned and Harp looked skeptical.

"Wait and see~!"

"Oi, Rock!"

"KUWA~H! THE CATACOMBS MONSTE~R!"

"MWAH, HAH, HAH, HAH!"

"DIE, DIE, DIE~!"

The sound of a machinegun being fired rang out along with War Rock's echoing laughter: Rock Man, Harp Note and Harp sighed in defeat at the stupid behavior.

"Catch me, Mr. Universe~!"

"Oi, Freddie! What's this scandal?"

"Louis! The catacomb monster! It exists!"

"Wha~t?"

"Yo."

"Guwa~h!"

"Lovely." Rock Man sighed.

"Over here! There's a fight!" A voice rang out close by.

"That voice…!"

Acid Ace and some Commandos ran into the area followed by four of five underground inspection team men.

"Akatsuki – san! We…"

"Don't blame yourself. What's going on?"

"Rock is keeping the sentinels of Hyde's base busy."

"What! This is Hyde's base?"

"Above us…" Harp Note signaled.

"Oh! I remember about that." One of the men admitted.

"Where's the surface entrance?"

"Tenjin Street, on the corner with Oike Street!"

"Good! Some of us will enter the building while the others will go call for an assault team! Cordon off the whole area around their base and get into position!"

"Roger!"

"I'm out of ammo! Bring me more…" Freddie began yelling.

"Good night!" War Rock laughed.

"Whack!" Freddie uttered.

"Oi, Freddie!" Louis called out.

"Boo." War Rock announced.

"Kya~h! Quick, the interphone!" Louis screamed.

"Good night!"

"Whack!"

"At least the two guards are knocked out." Harp Note muttered.

"Good! Two men seize each of them… Let's go up!"

"Roger!"

"Here we are… Hyde's base!"

"Hmmm? Hey! Is that…?"

Harp Note rushed over to a corner of the room where a coat and an open suitcase having clothes inside had been tossed.

"The Professor's…!"

"HELP!"

"Let's hurry!"

Rock Man kicked the door open and they rushed into the room just as the Professor fainted: they gasped.

"Quick, get him outta there! Drain the pit!"

"Drain valve, drain valve… Here!"

Acid Ace opened it and the water began to drain: the Commandos jumped inside and one carried the Professor on his back while another pulled them up with a rope: Acid Ace opened the hermetic case and looked at the data storage unit.

"Strange. Hyde dropped it like it was garbage when it's something valuable… Unless…"

He connected it to one Hunter – VG and the "Real Wave" screen displayed a set of blueprints.

"The fake blueprints…! The Professor must have had to confess where the real ones are at and he's going to retrieve them!"

"What!"

"We must hurry and make him wake up… And in the meanwhile the surface team will begin their attack…!"

"Che! We mustn't let Hyde get away with it!" Rock Man cursed.

"Course not…! We gotta hurry!"

"Wake up, Professor!"

20:25 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Oi. Don't ya hear a ruckus out there?"

"Bah. Ain't the first time we've 'eard t'is in this t'is place…"

Two of the thugs were standing and guarding the surface entrance yard of the concrete-made and totally non-peculiar building: one looked nervous at the sound of police sirens and the other shrugged as he smoked a cigarette.

"Ah! Look, look!"

"Hmmm? What!"

They spotted some figures congregating near the SW and SE corners of the building which kept on increasing.

"The cops have found us!" One exclaimed.

Both of them burst into the main room where the remaining five or six thugs were playing trumps while Shinobi was apparently in the midst of a talk with Assassin using some kind of ancient idiom.

"No! Why, you…! No! Hyde – sama said it. No bloodshed today! Nothing all! Go kill mice if you want, but nothing past that and…!"

"The cops are out there!" They both exclaimed.

"What?"

"The cops, you say!"

"Che. Oi! Do you lot wanna get caught like that? No, right? Then pick the weapons! We're gonna fight them back!" Shinobi told them.

"Oh yeah! I wanna bust 'em!"

"Let's pick the grenades, too!"

"This is a war refuge: they won't get in so easily!"

"Then let's go all out! No holding back! Let's show 'em what stuff we're made of!"

The thugs picked machineguns and grenades to then rush out and hide close to the entrance door: they looked outside to see Inspector Goyouda and another two Commandos banging the yard's door.

"Satella Police! You better surrender!" Goyouda yelled.

"Don't act yet… Wait until they enter the courtyard." Shinobi instructed the thugs.

"Don't bother, Inspector. We have an open-it-all here." One Commando announced as he broke the cheap lock with his machinegun.

"Fire!"

A torrent of laser machinegun fire filled the courtyard so the Commandos and the Inspector backed up.

"Three Commandos wounded insofar… Roddo! Do a good job!" Another officer told a Commando wielding a bazooka.

The Commando nodded and shot towards a window thus blowing the steel barrier which served as defense.

"Good hit! Keep at it!" The officer instructed.

More explosions rang out around the refuge to the panic of Shinobi and the thugs: the thing was spiraling out of control.

"Use the gases!" Inspector Goyouda commanded.

Tear gas-filled vials were thrown inside of the refuge and everyone began to cough.

"Tear gas!" One thug exclaimed.

"We're doomed!" Another yelled.

"Not yet! Let's retreat underground!" Shinobi commanded while trying to repress his coughs.

However, when they opened the door of the corridor which led to the connecting spiral stairs, they found the trio of Denpa – Henkan users aiming their weapons at them.

"Surprise, ugly dudes!" War – Rock laughed.

"Stand back… I'll clear this on one shot!" Shinobi ordered.

He picked a grenade from a box and pulled out the pin.

"Eat this! DIE!" He roared.

The grenade landed in the midst of the corridor and stopped at Rock Man's feet: he quickly picked it and threw it towards Shinobi as he tried to lock the armored door.

"What!"

A brutal explosion rang out given how the grenade had ignited the ammunitions deposits: the whole hall collapsed and the walls and ceiling were gone.

"Whoa!"

The smoke began to clear and the thugs groaned as they tried to stand up but collapsed: the surface team rushed into the hall and began to disarm the combatants.

"Good work, Akatsuki!" Goyouda congratulated.

"You did a good work as well, Inspector!" Acid Ace told him as well.

"Alright, Shinobi! Where did your Lord go to?"

"Uh-unh… Dunno! He told me to stay here and that he'd be back in about an hour's time… Ugh…" He groaned.

"Knowing Hyde he won't come back here and will rescue this guy later on… If only the Professor woke up…!" Acid Ace cursed.

"Akatsuki! The Professor woke up! He told us the location!"

"Good! Where?"

"The lab's library!"

"By all the… We gotta hurry! Let's use the Wave Roads! Satella Police "Raid Troop"… Move out!"

20:44 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Finally… The Wave Roads were closed so I had to go through the sewers… But I am closer! Those fools… They left the lab empty sans any defenses… Victory is mine!"

Phantom Black emerged from a manhole near the research lab building and quickly ran towards there: he kicked the door open and rushed into the library where he quickly scanned the rows of books.

"There! Phantom Claw!"

He grabbed it and the Phantom Claw brought it to him: he opened it and spotted the storage unit.

"Good evening!" A familiar voice greeted.

Phantom Black gasped and looked around: Rock Man, Harp Note and Acid Ace were surrounding him.

"If it isn't the Satella Police trio… I'm afraid other duties occupy me, so I shall take my leave!"

He ran towards Harp Note, jumped over her and kept running while dodging shots: he then entered the manhole and closed it: the group soon reached it and began to pull it open.

"Go!"

They dropped inside but there was no trace of Phantom Black: instead a hastily scrabbled note had been affixed to a nail in the wall.

"… "Ladies and gentlemen. In the end the scriptwriter wins because the stage favors him and the scent of drama fills him with excitement and the rush which comes after a grand finale. This nation will soon be reduced to cinders! Phantom Black." … What a clown!" Acid Ace grumbled.

"How lovely!" Harp Note cursed.

"Hyde! You lowlife!" Rock Man cursed.

_I won't let you get away with it!_

22:27 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hah! They call that a safe transport vehicle…? It was so easy to warp inside, knock the guards, and rescue Shinobi. He's my disciple and my very competent agent! He deserved it. Anyway! Let's see the 22:30 news! They will be announcing my triumph! Mwah, hah, hah!"

"Yeah, yeah… Obviously…"

"Feel the joy!"

"I feel the skepticism instead."

"Whatever! One is skeptical at first. But they feel joy when they win!"

Hyde walked into a small room somewhere which only had a bed, a desk, one chair and one window looking out into a forest: Phantom was floating next to him and looked pessimistic while Hyde grinned as he sat down on the chair and activated the "Real Wave" screen.

"Good evening! Tonight we bring follow-up news from the so-called "Shinaides Affair"… The band of thieves in Kyoto led by the mysterious Hyde has been disbanded yet the boss and one elite agent are in unknown whereabouts… And now we switch to the Satella Police HQ where a conference lead by "Raid Troop" member Akatsuki Shidou – sama is taking part…"

"Admit defeat, Satella Police."

"To begin with… I should say something important. The invention is on safe hands! Why's that? We got to the lab 10 minutes before Hyde did and we switched the storage units! So the invention is under OUR custody by now!" Akatsuki announced.

Hyde's jaw hit the floor and Phantom sighed as if he'd seen it coming: Hyde turned white and he suddenly looked angered.

"Me…! Fooled…! Fooled…! FOOLED…!"

_I knew it. And now to bear with his anger. Go away already, you onlookers._

"I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE~!"


	7. Chapter 7: Finale

**Chapter 7: Finale**

10:10 AM (Japan Time), Saturday February the 11th…

"… Wo~h! Gourmet Town! I missed this place! Ai – cha~n! We've come back!"

"Ahem, ahem!"

"Yikes!"

"Ops. Brace yourself, Tsukasa – kun. _Iinchou_ is going for it."

"Yeah. I can see that."

"Really… Gonta – kun should watch this tongue!"

"I know, Gino – kun, but the guy won't change…"

"Hah! Fatmen will be fatmen."

The 2 – A class had come to "Gourmet Town" within the "Yaeba Resort" and Gonta looked around in awe: he began to call out and Luna suddenly got a twitch over her right eye and seemed to be building her anger up: Gonta turned around and gasped while the other students rolled their eyes and sighed in defeat.

"THIS USELESS WOMANIZER FATMAN!" She exploded.

"W-wrong, _iinchou_! I…!" He gasped.

"THIS USELESS DEVOUR-IT-ALL FATMAN!" Luna exclaimed next while raising her voice's volume.

"B-but…!" Gonta argued back.

"THIS FAT AND CALORIES CLUSTER FATMAN!"

"That's why…!" He didn't get to finish.

"THIS I WANNA BE THE HERO FATMAN!"

"T-that's…!"

"THIS WALKING AND TALKING FATMAN!"

"Oh my! It's been a while! Dad didn't tell me you'd come: what a surprise to see you guys again!"

Suberita Ai walked over to them but Luna didn't seem to notice her presence given how she was still yelling at Gonta.

"THIS USELESS SKY PRO WANNABE!"

"Ski pro wannabe…? B-but…"

"THIS IDIOTIC FIRE MANIAC!"

"T-that's Ox!"

"THIS SQUARE-HEADED CHEATER!"

"Cheater? Me? No, I…!"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB, FATMAN! I KNOW YOU WERE COPYING TSUKASA – KUN'S ANSWERS! NOW GET READY! YOUR PUNISHMENT IS GONNA CONTINUE TILL NEXT COURSE: VEGETARIAN DIET!"

"Gwa~h!"

"Eh… What's wrong?" Ai asked.

"Well… Gonta hasn't been behaving lately so _iinchou_ exploded. But I guess she has one of her jealousy fits, too." Subaru sighed.

"By the way! You three… You weren't there two years ago, right?"

"Yeah. I'm Jack."

"Futaba Tsukasa."

"Kiboyama Gino."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Suberita Ai. My dad is the owner of this "Yaeba Resort"." She smiled.

"AND IF I SEE ANY HINT OF YOU DOWNLOADING THE ANSWERS OR HACKING THEM THEN YOU GET A 0 IN HOMEWORK! AND IF YOU DON'T TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE ANSWERS THEN YOU STAND FAT CHANCE OF SCORING EVEN A 5 IN THE EXAMS, FATMAN!"

"E~h?"

"THIS IS MIDDLE SCHOOL! THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS! OR YOUR HEAD IS ALREADY THINKING OF VICIOUS AND EVIL FOOD, HUH?"

"N-no!"

"Buro~! Admit it already, loser." Ox shrugged.

"Hah! Loser your hide!" War Rock taunted.

"Wha~t?"

"Not again…" Subaru groaned.

"Probabilities of…" Pedia began.

"I know. 100%." Subaru cursed.

"What a troop!" Mode sighed.

"Your ugly right hand! Buro~!"

"Your ugly left horn! Hah!"

"Your ugly tail! Buro~!"

"Your ugly armor! Hah!"

"WHY, YOU…!"

"Enough! Go to the abandoned manor! At least everything there is fried out and unable to function and the inspection finished time ago so it doesn't matter if something gets broken!" Subaru commanded.

"Alright, Subari~! I know you're gonna stage a three-person party tonight in the Suite 666!"

"There's no Suite 666!" Ai protested.

"Now there's one 'cause War Rock – sama decided that! Hah!"

"Buro~! Come 'ere!"

"Those guys…"

"Hmpf. Wanting to stir up trouble…" A voice rang out.

"Lovely. Solo. I know it's you. Stop stalking us."

"Stalking you? When did I do that?"

"You did. Get serious. I prefer you hostile."

Solo popped out from behind a stand while having a smug smile on his face and being followed by Laplace.

"I heard Hyde and his punk staged some ruckus."

"Some ruckus alright. They almost got away with it but we got there just in time to fool them. It's kept us stress-filled for a whole 3 days!"

"By the way. I believe that, given the info you gave me, that the Denpa Body named "Assassin" is the one powering the host's bloodthirsty nature: I'd say the Denpa Body is the one who wishes for blood and makes the host feel thrilled. Hyde surely knew that and that's why he picked the guy to do all those murders." Solo explained.

"Oh. Yeah. No doubt… But he's not _that_ efficient in battle, at the very least, so... Now, did you want to tell me something else?"

"Is there really a Suite 666?"

"NO!" Ai protested.

"Ah. I thought it was way too appropriate."

"Appropriate for _what_?" Jack asked.

"Dunno."

"Not again…" Tsukasa cursed.

"War Rock…! That guy…!" Kiboyama grumbled.

"Yeah. I know. He won't learn the lesson. At all!" Subaru hissed.

"… THIS INCREDIBLY SLOW AND HEAVY FATMAN!"

"And Gonta won't either."

10:44 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Ready, Joe?"

"Ready, Bill… The old man is gonna pay us a lot for this! Too bad we're not allowed to do anything else…"

"Chut! There they come…"

"Alright… Come closer…"

"Denpa – Henkan! On Air! Shock Note!"

"Whack!"

"Whack!"

"Hmpf. The old man got desperate… He wants personal payback this time around? Then I'll tell him one or two things myself!"

"Pororon! Well said!"

Two guys on their late 20s had been hiding behind some bushes while holding a sack and looking eager before Harp Note's attack hit them and knocked them out: the place was a spot of the main road connecting the Okudama Studios building with the Wave Liner station: Harp Note looked rather annoyed.

"Alright! Let's go bring Moon Disaster. We'll shatter all of that old man's glasses and call the Satella Police on those two: they'll quickly confess and then they have a reason to boycott that guy… I heard about it: he's trying to use connections to pass an unfair regulation into the Diet to help him gain monopoly of ALL records! Such a greedy old man… Music is not meant just to make money! It's mean to fill people's hearts with emotions and draw out the best of yourself…!" Harp Note muttered.

"Pororon! Well said, Misora!"

"Luckily we can now use the Noise Wave to shortcut to Kodama Town and get to the Cosmo Wave from there. That old man's up for a surprise. You don't wanna anger a girl. Tee, heh, heh, heh. But it's too late to regret by now! Get ready! Tee, heh, heh, heh."

10:55 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Satella Police HQ."

"You people! Move it!"

"Name, please."

"Uragino Records Incorporated!"

"Oho. Hand that over to me, Hondo."

"Roger, Akatsuki."

"A little girl in a Carnival dress and a Wizard are staging some kind of extravaganza which is shattering all of my office building's windows! Do something!"

"Can't."

"WHAT?"

A call had come into the Satella Police HQ and Akatsuk asked the officer to hand it over to him: he grinned and didn't seem to mind the roar of anger coming from the phone.

"That's payback."

"Not again!"

"Yeah. You hired two thugs to try to abduct her and force her to sign a contract against her will to get the monopoly of all of her songs. But you geezer won't understand something: Hibiki has zero interest in making money outta her songs and gives a crap for record labels. She's interested in her music being downloadable via pay service and that's all. And now we have a reason to arrest you but I'll sit back and enjoy seeing their combined musical destruction power." Akatsuk grinned.

"Truly." Acid muttered.

"NO WAY!"

"And forget about your Diet "buddy". We caught him days ago."

"No! My empire must come to be!"

"Nope. That'd be an illegal monopoly and there are laws saying that you can't force someone to hand over their songs. You're not government or police. So go pick up lilies of the valley."

"You lowlife~!"

"YO, YO, YO! And there were a thousand jumping cabbages fighting each other with root and rot!" Moon Disaster chanted.

"Together with 100db roars and cries!" Harp Note added.

"BUST EM ALL they say!" Both exclaimed.

"Catchy." Hondo grinned.

"Reminds me of my times…" Dr. Yoiri giggled.

"Maybe." The Chief rolled his eyes.

"I always say it's bad to pick on a girl especially if she's the type to hold grudges." Daigo grinned.

"Yikes." Utagai Shinsuke gasped.

"Relax." Cygnus told him.

"But, really… "Root and rot" is a good rhyme." Amachi Mamoru chuckled.

"Someone halt them!"

"When you flag the white cloth." Akatsuk shot back.

"Wha~t?"

"Your business is going down. We're gonna shut it down and I'm sure some people there would be relieved to be freed from your malevolent secret contract tricks." Akatsuk smiled.

"Root and rot BUST EM ALL Dogars!"

"That will be fine." Queen Tia muttered.

"Alright! Wait for the next thrill, guys and gals!"

11:12 AM (Japan Time)…

"… I'm the ghost of the Grand Canyon! I bring helmets and swords along me with magic and sorcery! Hop! Abracadabra!"

"What the heck?"

"Dunno…"

"That voice…"

"Huh? Hmmm… That red helmet with black shades… And that gigantic sword… I've seen them somewhere before."

Subaru, Kiboyama, Tsukasa and Solo had come back to the hotel only to find a familiar helmet and sword in the middle of the lobby along with a voice echoing around them.

"Hmmm? The Hunter – VG… Oh. Hello? Is that you, Blood? What happened to your helmet?"

"That's what I'd like to know!"

"Whoa. He looks so alike…!"

"So that's the man under the mask."

"Oi, Brad Shad! Did ya see my _aibou_?"

"_Aibou_? You mean your sword, Sigma?"

A call had come in and the "Real Wave" screen displayed Blood Shadow's real face which looked extremely similar to Subaru's yet the hair was tinted red and his eyes' irises were black and red instead: he looked somewhat annoyed and then he looked at the left in the direction Sigma's voice had come from.

"I'm the ghost of the Grand Canyon!"

"SIR OMEGA!" Both yelled.

"Omega – san… I knew it!"

"Oho. So those are theirs." Solo grinned.

"B-B-B-B-Bertie~! Come to my side~!"

"No, sir! I don't have enough trust in you, sir!"

"NYA~H! OMEGA! What have you done to Blood's helmet and Sigma's sword? Answer me!" A man yelled off-screen.

"Ops. _Shachou_ found the Giorgio Beverly Hills fragrance I snuck onboard last night!" Omega giggled.

"GRFJTX! Answer me!"

"They're here, Boss…"

"Where's "here", Subaru?"

"Yaeba Resort Hotel Lobby, sir…"

"I'll send them to pick it up right now… And I'm gonna emergency-recall Omega too! I can't stand these farces anymore!"

"Farce Man showed up with the 5:55 PM express from York!"

A purple "portal" opened in the air and sucked Omega (attached to the ceiling and crawling across it like a spider) inside: it closed and opened again to allow Blood Shadow and Sigma to retrieve their stuff: Blood Shadow placed the helmet on and adjusted it while Sigma tapped the sword with his knuckles.

"Alright! See ya!"

"Later!"

"Phew. Alright. Let's rent the ski stuff. We came to ski, after all. Tsukasa – kun can look on from Gourmet Town. And, Solo… Do as you like."

"Hmpf. You always incite me to do as I like yet that's my way. Or my half-way too… Whatever. I'll see you around, Hoshikawa. And next time we'll have a showdown with the punk."

"Delighted. Let's go, guys!"

"Hooray!"

11:19 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hyde – sama… What do you beseech of…?"

"Give me a random idea!"

"R-roger… Eh… Hum… Tournament?"

"What…? Tournament? The TV…! Lots and lots of ads! The magazine covers! Press…! Newspapers…! Mwah, hah, hah… I'm starting to come up with a _terrific_ project!"

"Is t-that so? Congratulations, _my master_…"

"Lovely."

"_Kranos arkas un_?"

"What? "That involves lots of blood to drink?" you ask? Dunno. Try drinking _sangria_ instead."

"_Utonos mejuu non!_"

"… "Don't think so highly of yourself!"… Oi, oi. You're a forbidden clan! I had duties in the Mu Army…"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"

"This is trouble, right?"

"Yeah. It _is_ trouble."

Hyde had commanded for Shinobi to give him an idea and the mere mention of "tournament" seemed to inspire him: when Assassin made a question in Mu Idiom, Phantom replied to it and a twitch formed over his right eye: he sounded offended by now while Hyde kept on laughing and Shinobi looked like he expected trouble: Phantom sighed.

"What can we do?"

"Sadly, nothing. Hope he'll forget it tomorrow."

Shinobi and Phantom sighed in defeat while Assassin grumbled and Hyde kept on laughing…

10:45 AM (Shanghai Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh."

"Tee, heh, heh."

"How foolish."

"Truly."

"How short-sighted."

"Obviously."

"How devious."

"Delicious."

Two unidentified figures were talking inside of a vast metallic room the great majority of which was unlit.

"This thing can move again… And it's ours to command! Let us prepare a little attraction and refurbish a bit… And then we'll wait for a chance to draw those guys inside… They've totally forgotten about us by now: both Kuroban Howsad and Hyde have kept them busy, Ka."

"I know, Ku. It'll be exquisite. The useless struggle, the fear pulsing through their veins, the terror which comes with hopelessness and powerlessness… An exquisite cocktail, I'd name it."

"Heh, heh, heh. We can use our brains, ya know, guys. And you'll regret looking down on us two."

"Our _partner_ will feel avenged. Terror and fear shall plague them forever and they will be unable to flee from it… And his wishes will be made reality too… Tee, heh, heh, heh."

"Good! Let's move out! There's not a day to waste."

"Look forward to it."

Both chuckled or giggled under their breaths in an evil tone of voice…

**THE END**


End file.
